Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand (2021)

This article documents the timeline of transmission of COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand throughout 2021. The following dates and times are in New Zealand Daylight Time (UTC+13) until 3 April and New Zealand Standard Time (UTC+12) from 4 April.

On 14 February 2021, at 11:59 pm, Auckland moved up to alert level 3 and the rest of New Zealand to level 2 after new community cases were detected in Auckland during level 1.^[1] On 17 February at 11:59 pm, Auckland moved down to level 2 and the rest of the country to level 1.^[2] On 22 February at 11:59 pm, Auckland moved down to level 1.^[3] On 28 February at 6:00 am, Auckland moved back up to level 3 while the rest of New Zealand moved to level 2.^[4] On 7 March at 6:00 am, Auckland moved back to level 2 while the rest of New Zealand moved to level 1.^[5] On 12 March, Auckland moved back to level 1 at midday.^[6]

On 17 August 2021 at 11:59 pm, after a report of a new community case presumed to be infected with the Delta variant of the virus earlier that day, New Zealand moved to alert level 4, entering a nationwide lockdown for a minimum of three days.^[7]

On 1 September 2021, Auckland and the Northland Region remained on Alert Level 4 while the rest of the country transitioned into Alert Level 3 from 1 September 2021.^[8][9] On 8 September, all of New Zealand except Auckland moved into Alert Level 2 at 11:59pm on 7 September. However, mandatory mask wearing and limits on both indoor and outdoor gatherings of 50 and 100 people respectively were introduced.^[10] On 22 September, Auckland moved down to Alert Level 3 while the rest of the country remained on Alert Level 2. Event limit restrictions were also relaxed for areas under Level 2, with 100 people being allowed in indoor hospitality venues.^[11][12]

On 4 October, Alert Level three restrictions were reinstated in several parts of Waikato including Raglan, Huntly, Ngāruawāhia and Hamilton following the detection of community cases.^[13] On 7 October, Level 3 restrictions in the Waikato were extended to include a wider area including Te Kūiti, the Waipa District, Ōtorohanga, Te Awamutu, Karapiro and Cambridge.^[14] On 8 October, Alert Level 3 restrictions were reinstated in the Northland Region after a positive case from Auckland visited the region.^[15]

On 2 November, the Waikato region transitioned to step 2 of Alert Level 3. Step 2 allows retailers to operate with face masks and physical distance; increased the number of people at outdoor gatherings to 25; and eliminated the two-household restriction.^[16] On 10 November, Auckland transitioned to step 2 of Alert Level 3 from 10 November. As a result, retailers, museums, and zoos reopened while outdoor gatherings were allowed with a 23-person limit. The Far North District, which entered into a Level 3 lockdown the previous week, moved down to Alert Level 2 on 12 November.^[17]

On 3 December, New Zealand transitioned into the COVID-19 Protection Framework ("Traffic light system), ending the previous "alert level system". Auckland and areas in the North Island with low vaccination started on the Red setting while the rest of the country commenced on the Orange setting.^[18][19] On 15 December, the Government lifted the internal border around Auckland, easing travel to and from the metropolitan region.^[20] On 31 December, most areas under the Red setting with the exception of the Northland Region transitioned to the Orange setting.^[21]

Data about the previous day is extracted from the Institute of Environmental Science and Research's database at 9:00 am daily and is publicly released by the Ministry of Health around 1:00 pm. For most of January, data was released every three days instead.